April's 30 Days Of Beauty Instagram Challenge

Have you heard?

Inspired by Chantelle's photoaday challenge, Jaime of MissChew.com will be hosting an Instagram challenge for next month, but will be ALL about BEAUTY!

Yay!!

Image from MissChew

To be honest, I didn't know what the #photoaday challenge on Twitter was about. Was wondering why everyone was posting a daily photo of themselves (lol). It's not too late though!

Glad I found out about this Beauty Instagram Challenge! Perfect excuse for me to snap a few self-shots!

Looking forward to see everyone else's photos a day!

Will you be participating?

See you all on Twitter!

By the way, I'll just be TwitPic-ing!

Glossybox Australia: March's Edition

So I paid for this month's Glossybox after purchasing a box from them last month when there was a 50% off sale on GroupOn. I really couldn't afford $14.95 a month on box subscriptions so it wasn't my intention to become a subscriber.

I didn't know that if I'd purchase a GroupOn box, that means I'd be a subscriber until I want to cancel! I thought it was a one-time thing.. I personally thought it was pretty unclear.

On the brighter side, I get to show you what's in this month's box!

I love these sturdy boxes they arrive in!

First of all, there are 18 products for this month, but your box will only contain 5 of the randomly chosen. I personally find this to be unfair for subscribers as some will get a box with higher value or products that another subscriber will find more useful and helpful. I personally think that if there's a list of different products, then subscribers should be allowed to choose OR the products should be carefully picked to cater to the subscribers' individual needs such as their skin types or conditions.

I've reviewed last month's box which was also very similar. I saw that some subbies received a total different box, so the trend probably start last month.

Anyways, for this month's box, I received:

SILK Oil Of Morocco Hair and Skin Treatment Serum

Not sure how I feel about this 'dry oil' on hair and skin. The thought of using a hair product for skin and a skin product for hair kinda irks me. Oh the goosebumps.

Kosmea Hydrating Rosewater Mist

Yay for a rosewater spritz! Rosewater as a toner is great for dry skin, so that's a yay!

Avene Gentle Milk Cleanser

Milk cleansers are generally great for all skin types so I'm actually looking forward to try out this milk cleanser. I've never tried any products from this brand (that I've heard lots about!).

Absolutely Gorgeous Macadamia Face Cream

A 'cream' product, yay! Another product for dry skin types..

SheerCover Lipgloss

I've heard bad reviews about this when it came in a MyGlam bag, so I'm not sure.

Glossybox Balance Bracelet

Errr... not useful to me and I don't believe in this stuff, so nop!

Vouchers for Absolutely Gorgeous ($10 off), Kosmea (GWP) and Zanui ($10 gift card for purchase over $50), that I will most likely not use..

Overall

Not sure about the value of products in this month's box, because there were no retail prices on the card. The skincare products are suitable for my dry skin, so that's awesome. The lip gloss is okay, let's not be so biased on the brand. The bracelet is useless for me, not going to be using it!

Lastly, one thing I've mentioned earlier in this post.. I don't like how everyone's boxes are different although it could be exciting for some.

Your thoughts?

Glossybox subscriptions are $14.95 per month with a box, visit their official site for more information.

Disclaimer: Product was purchased by me.

Bellabox Australia: March's Edition

Bellabox is a well-known beauty box subscription service amongst many other companies.

This month's Bellabox is themed 'Bare Faced Beauty' which I had imagine to be packed of natural skincare products and toned down make-up, which I was initially excited for.

Received a despatch notice and the box arrived three days later on my doorstep.

Anyways, this month's Bellabox arrived in your usual blue cardboard box packaging with the products contained in a mini library bag (usually a sturdy cardboard gift-box).

Don't you fret though, the products were safely bubble wrapped and arranged in Tetris style. As neat as a pin.

Yes To Carrots Lip Tint | $9.95

I received this lip tint in full size and was pretty excited for this since I didn't know they had lip tints! I've only recently been introduced to this brand, so yes! It's a dark red in tube, but goes on sheer.

Pure Fiji Coconut Hydrating Body Lotion | $29.95/354mL

Received this in an unknown size as it's not stated on packaging. Looks like a 30mL which will probably last me 10 applications. The body lotion itself is very average, but the scent is amazing. It has a coconut and vanilla scent. After half a day to a day of wearing it, the coconut scent fades to bring out the vanilla scent. Smells amazing!!

Planet Eye Daily Face Moisturiser | $59/50mL

I have this in a 10mLs sample, so $12 right there. This face moisturiser was pretty average for me. I think it's best for normal to oily skin types. My dry skin prefers a much more creamier and hydrating moisturiser.

U Little Beauty Natural Repair Hair Mask | $19.95/100mL

Full size. A hair product which has a consistency of a gel moisturiser. Pretty weird. I prefer to stick to L'Oreal Mythic Oil or Macadamia Oil better since it would instantly tame down my frizz a bit.. Better than nothing!

Bellamer Eye Balm | $40/15g

Pretty priceY! Received a sample of this thing and the texture is like the Egyptian Magic Cream or a thicker version of Vaseline. Will last me yonks.

Carman's Muesli Biscuit

Ok.. I don't mind food or drinks that comes with beauty boxes as long as it doesn't count as a product. In this case, it was an extra which came with the five products and tasted quite yummy!!

This month's Bellabox is pretty fair since you get one haircare, skincare, anti-aging, lipcare and body care product. The theme 'Bare Faced Beauty' does relate in a way as the products included are mostly of natural, organic and/or eco-friendly companies. This month mainly focused on skincare and haircare, rather than cosmetics. You can see that the theme and box matches quite well. However, the products of this month didn't cater to my personal needs although it may surpass $14.95 in value. As for shipping, shipping updates with time and date were sent as soon as the parcel was on board and another was sent as soon as it was delivered. Pretty impressed with the tracking and shipping!

How are your beauty boxes going this month everyone?

Any hits or misses?

Bellabox subscriptions are $14.95 per month, available to register at their official website.

Disclaimer: Product was sent by PR for consideration. Please refer to this site's disclosure policy.

Missha Nail Color in PK101 Photos, Review & Swatches

This was my very first Missha nail colour, excluding top and base coats! I've never been so impressed with Missha cosmetics, but their nail polishes are actually very well done!

I bought this from the markets for $2, so I'm not sure if they are still available in store or if they have been repackaged (or discontinued, *cry). So if you like it, then do pick it up when you see it laying around at a Missha store or whereever!


PK101 is a beautiful duochromatic polish with reflects of prominently a lovely light gold and a beigey-pink.


The polish applied extremely well and lasted 6 days (on my nails) before it started chipping, so I'm extremely impressed!

One thing to keep in mind is that the brush is a tad bigger than your average nail polish brush, so you may or may not like it. I personally am not a fan of big brushes, but I didn't struggle with the brush in this polish, so that's totally fine with me.

That's it! I've actually bought some more nail polishes and make-up which will be up in the next haul post (tomorrow!) and after that, Swatch-aday!

So excited for the next fewer posts, because I am in loveeeee with the new polishes I bought!

Stay updated with my posts via Twitter and Facebook!

Disclaimer: Product was purchased by me.

Saturday/Sunday Steals #18

Another week, another haul!

Actually, this haul was from two weeks ago and I didn't get much at all, but better than the usual since it's was raining (rained today again!), so not many stalls which meant not much to buy!

Despite the awful weather, I still religiously attend Paddy's Swap & Sell every weekend at 8:30 in the morning (takes 40 minutes to get there).

There were two L'Oreal Illumination Loose Eyeshadows, both were still brand new in sealed packaging! One for moi and one for a friend. Forgot which shade it is, because I've already disposed the packaging!

Wella's High Hair Flat Iron Spray. At the time I bought this, I didn't even own a flat iron. I bought one yesterday though! A recent haul to come!


This eyeshadow was heck cheap. Although it's BYS, I bought this brand new and sealed for $2! The packaging is a bit jammed, but this is for a friend, and I thought she'd prefer this shade than the greens and blues which were available.


China Glaze's Great Barrier Beige, $1.50!


I've ran out of double eyelid tapes, so when I saw a girl selling double eyelid tapes, I thought I'd give it a go! This was $1.50.


Lastly, three bottles of Wella High Hair Ocean Spritz! It was cheap, so I bought it kay!! Sharing these with friends also! :')

That was all for the market haul two weeks ago!! I can't wait to show you what I've got the week after! Nothing exciting, but still! Better than these in my opinion!

I also hope the sun shines on weekends to not only make the market seem more exciting, but also everyone's weekend!

But of right now, too soon to speak about weekend! It's only the beginning of the week!

I hope you all a wonderful start to the week!

January-February Empties

I haven't finished any products late, but after tidying my room, I found these empty products scattered everywhere! I was suppose to blog about them earlier this year in Jan, but totally forgot!

Burt's Bees Radiance Facial Cleanser is a gentle, '99.2% natural' cleanser. My skin definitely felt smooth after cleansing, but I didn't spot any radiance or extraordinary results, so that's a shame.

Vaseline Aloe Fresh Hydrating Lotion is an okay lotion for the body.. Smells nice and does its job, but besides that, nothing too special about it really.

Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Shampoo and Conditioner came home with me after being quite impressed with their Leave-In Split Hair Protector (from the same range). I didn't see any results, really. I have thick, poofy and hard-to-manage hair (which I've already given up on), so all I look for are haircare products which helps me to stay dandruff-free. I personally didn't find these two to help with that (too!), so no repurchase although the packaging is so cute and fun!

Unfortunately, same goes to their Tousle Me Softly Touchable Soft Shampoo (I've already disposed the packaging) and Conditioner. Whilst my sister (who has straighter hair) love the after tousles and waves from the Tousle Me Softly range, it did nothing for my hair! Boo!

Although saying so, I'm still looking forward to try the 'Dangerously Straight' range, am I silly to still hold hope?

Has anyone tried their 'Dangerously Straight' range?

Disclaimer: Burt's Bee Radiance Facial Cleanser was a goodie from ABBW which I believe was just for display.. I didn't know until later when a blogger told me about it! Woops! :(

My Everyday Face Routine For Class

Back in 2010 when I first started with make-up, I remember rockin' up with Missha BB Cream smeared all over me face to cover the teenage acne. Of course, I didn't realise till a year after I graduated that I must've looked cakey and disgusting.... and grey after the BB cream oxidised.

As time passed, my acne went away so I've began to feel much more comfortable with my naked face. These days, to be honest, I would dare to attend TAFE with no make-up (applaud to me plz, thnx). To let my skin breathe and scare off the creepy and perverted guys there.. trollolol.

I did that a couple of times, but then realise that TAFE days are actually great days for me to trial and test out make-up and skincare! Hell, I wouldn't want to sit home in make-up to trial and not to mention that the results will be quite biased.

My coverage can go from light to heavy (depending on which products I decide to trial), but I prefer to still stick with natural features and nothing too dramatic. So here it is!

My first step of the day after cleansing is to moisturise and I've been using Sukin's Facial Moisturiser for the past two weeks or so.

Depends on the weather and how my skin's looking on the day, I do switch back and forth to a lighter weight moisturiser.

Sunscreen comes second, no matter how much SPF my tinted moisturiser or foundation has! I use the Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Daily Face which is very lightweight and blends really well!

I prefer sheer to light coverage for TAFE and Australis' Paparazzi Perfect HD Tinted Moisturiser is just the perfect for me (except the shade). The coverage is awesome, not extremely sheer like other tinted moisturisers, but not too much coverage -- just enough. The shade is quite pinky and a tad darker than my skin, so I do blend this down my neck. Despite that, I still love it!!

I like to use two different concealers on a daily basis. The Maybelline Instant Age Double Face Perfector is a double ended highlighting-and-concealing pen. I prefer this for under-eye

concealer as it doesn't creases too much and is easier to blend. As

for the highlighter, I do use it to highlight my nose bridge AND

cheekbones.

As for spot concealing, Maybelline's Fit Me does much better. Better coverage, pigmentation and much more creamier. I just dot it onto my red scars and pat in with finger. Easy peasy.

Highlight my cheekbones again with Smashbox Artificial Light Luminising Lotion by blending it in with my fingers. Leaves me a very natural and beautiful sheen! Love it for a bright, fresh and glowy face. I will never skip highlighting! Neverrrrr.

Then, to set my tinted moisturiser and concealer, I prefer my Australis Ready Set Go Finishing Powder to make everything feel like skin. Powder everywhere except for where my Smashbox Luminising Lotion is applied.

As for blushers, I never really cared until I looked into the mirror one day and realised how ghostly pale I looked. My favourite lately, not to only trial, but use also is this pinky-coral blush from NP Set's Red Carpet Palette. It's matte and pigmented and I apply this just UNDER my blusher. After that, I can't stop staring at how beautiful the combo is!! Gaaaaa.

That's the end for the face. I don't shade at all on a daily basis, especially for class.

As for the eyes, I tightline sometimes, but most of the time, I'd just apply mascara. My favourite recently is Australis' Lash Length Extensions Mascara!!! I know every mascara claims to be 'extensions' and 'lash lengthening' but this mascara is one of my favourite! I do take my time sweet ass time to build this baby up though.

Of course, I do this after curling my lashes with my SANA Eyelash Curler which was recommended by Tina. The mascara does weigh my lashes down quite a bit, so I'd have to recurl after... boo!

Sometimes it clumps, sometimes it doesn't. If it does, my blog's business card then comes to use to help separate those clumps.

Lastly... lips!

I prefer to match my lip colour with blush, so since I've been using a pinky-coral blusher, I've been sporting Rimmel's Color Show Off in Tell No One (a red-coral) as a lip tint.. simply because it's the only red-coral I own.

I spent my whole day photographing and writing up this post!!! My oh my. Anti-social to be.

I hope you all find this post somewhat inspiring and helpful!

Disclaimer: Sukin Facial Moisturiser and NP Palette was sent to me as products consideration. Australis Tinted Moisturiser was from ABBW goodie bags. I am not obligated to review or mention these products in my post. Please refer to this blog's disclosure policy.

BYS Colour Change Nail Polish in Magenta Review & Swatches

After my previous [disappointing] experience with the BYS basic nail polish range, I've refound another nail polish from them in my collection, from the Colour Change range.

I received this polish from the ABBW goodie bags last year, but totally forgot about it, because I hoard home new polishes from the markets every weekend! *-*

With a two-coloured sticker on the handle, it is described to 'change colours with your temperature'. Expecting this to change ten thousand times a day for Sydney's and Melbourne's moody weather. lul.

The one I own is 'Magenta' which applies as a semi-matte medium purple and then slowly changes to suit your temperature.

It can go from a berry purple (when cold) to a vampy-bruised purple and a beautiful, bright hot pink (when hot).

Unlike Pretty As A Peach, I actually didn't find ANY problems when applying at all. It wasn't streaky and gloopy, so two coats was just enough coverage!

However, it chips quite easily around the nail tips after 2-3 days which is fine by me, because it's such a fun polish to wear. But when retouching, I wouldn't slack off and apply a thicker coat over to hide the already chipped as I noticed that the more layers applied, the slower it takes to change colours!

Despite that, I am still super impressed with this polish! Currently eyeing Glitter Blue and Purple (glitter + colour change?!?!?), Bright Pink and Blue - four of the eleven shades available.

Overall

An affordable, fun and unique semi-matte colour-changing nail polish. Changes from a berry purple (cold) to a beautiful bright pink (hot) according to your temperature. Applies very well, but can chip easily after 2-3 days of wear. The thicker the layers are applied, the slower it takes to change colours.

BYS Colour Changes retails for $4.95 at FashionAddict, GLOSS stores, BYS stockists and international stockists.

*It was a bit hard for me to capture the true colours due to lighting problems, but I've adjusted it as close as I possibly could, so hopefully you'll get a helpful insight!

Disclaimer: Product was from ABBW goodie bags. Please refer to this site's disclaimer policy.

How (Else) To: Use Nail Polish

We all know it’s heaps easy to double up the use of a make-up product: foundation as concealer, lipstick as blushers, eyeshadow as lipgloss… but have you ever wondered if there was any other ways a nail polish could be used?

Let me tell you…

Eyelining.

LOL. Just kidding! Don't do it.

Okay, so the other day, as I was sitting on my sweet old desktop being my usual self, enjoying my Age Of Mythology game, I suddenly felt unbearably itch on my inner thigh and toes.

They were mosquito bites!

Inner thighs? Fair enough. Toes?!?!?!!?!?! How the hell am I suppose to scratch that uleh?

As usual, I’d apply ointment and all that, but nothing seemed to help, so I decided to bring Google into the game. To my surprise, I found out that applying nail polish to a mosquito itch can actually help!

I’ve tried it. It worked [for me]. So I thought I’d share with you another way to use a nail polish and another reason as to why a topcoat should be carried around in your handbag.

I’m definitely carrying one around now, so when a friend gets victimised, I can whip out the polish and be like, ‘Wsup y’all! I’m gonna paint yo’ mozzy bites today’. I kidz.

Has anyone heard or has already tried this remedy?

Saturday/Sunday Steals #17

Edition #17!!! MY oh my.. I buy so many things! See you all on Hoarders (show) soon.

These items were bought a 2-3 weeks back, but I've never had the time to blog about them!

But I shall bombard you with photos to quickly skim through the fashion thrift. I got these for approximately $2~$3 per piece.

Ok!! Beauty stuff! I love this part.. Hahaha..

A bunch of nail polishes I've also collected from Sunday markets (which I unfortunately haven't been to lately due to mum's schedule) for $1 per bottle!

BYS Glam Blitter in Silver Moon and Out Of The Blue... the glitter are so chunky, not sure if I'll like them!

Sportsgirl Nail It in Minty Delight, obviously a minty green polish and BYS Pretty As A Peach which I have already blogged about in my previous post! :')

My second Missha Nail Polish ever!! Such a cute flower packaging! In bottle, looks like a duochrome pinky-bronze.

Jordana's nail colour in Sweetheart is a classic pink with pretty shimmers! I own their polish in Chiffon, a lovely light-mocha colour which is one of my top favourites. but I have to say their formula isn't the best. Chips pretty quick.

Ok, so I found clip-in bangs. Awesome right? I've had fuller bangs once in my life and I hated it. It made my face look super pointy and fob, but I'll never lose hope for one day being able to pull off full bangs. Speaking of bangs, I'm going to get a haircut tomorrow! I'm definitely going to try my luck again (with bangs). LOL!

...And I also bought Shrek ears!!! So cuteeeee. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this, but I love it!

That was all for the market haul from 2-3 weeks ago! Thanks so much for following through and I'll greet you soon with another haul soon!

A few readers have asked me which markets I go to, has anyone actually visited the/a market?

Share with me all your goodies!! :P

P.S. I go to Sydney Markets in Flemington (Swap & Sell section) and Preston's Trash & Treasure, if you're curious!